nilsson



PATBNTED JAN. ze, 1904.

A. W. NILSSON.

'INTERLOOKING TILE FOR FLOOR 0R WALL COVERINGS.

APPLICATION FILED .TUNE 25, 1903.

NLO MODEL.

o., vusuwman n a UNITED STATES Patented January 26, 1904.

PATENT @EETQED AXEL IY. NILSSON, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 750,779, dated :Binary 26, 1904i",

Application filed June Z5, 1903. Serial No. 163,013. (No model.)

T0 (LZ/ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AXEL W. NrLssoN, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing' at New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Interlocking Tile for Floor or IVall Coverings, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the drawings accompanying and forming part of the same.

The invention which forms the subject ofv the present application relates to Hoor-coverings composed of units or tiles which have tongues and recesses on their sides whereby when laid in position the same interlock to form, in effect, an integral sheet. Heretofore, so far as I am aware, the only method of making a pattern in the completed covering has been to use units or tiles of diiferent colors and assemble them in proper relative positions. rlhe outline of the pattern thus formed is broken or uneven on account of the projecting tongues, which extend from a tile of one color into a tile of another tint. This has met with objection from architects and builders and constitutes one of the chief drawbacks to floor-coverings of this character, in many instances being sufficient in the mind of a prospective user to overcome the advantages incident to the yielding or resilient material of which they are usually made and the many other advantages from the standpoint of economy and sanitation. I have therefore been led to devise my present invention, by which a variety of patterns may be formed from the same tiles by properly arranging them of even and unbroken outlines. The most'suitable patterns for a rectangular space, which is the usual shape of rooms, corridors, &c., are those in which the right angle, its multiples, or its halves and quarters predomi nate, and I have therefore selected as the embodiment of my invention here illustrated tiles and patterns embracing such features.

To form right-angle designs with the desired evenness of outline, it is usually neces'- sary that a certain proportion of the whole number of tiles be each made in two or more colors so arranged that the outlines of the colors on contiguous units will match. After considerable study and experiment I have found that the best results are produced by dividing the tile into an equal number of parts-say fourby lines intersecting at the center and coloring one or more of the divif is materially lessened and a more pleasing design produced. Y

To these and other ends my invention con-,`

sists in the novel features and combinations herein described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

Figure l shows one kind of party-colored tile embodying my invention. Fig. 2 shows a block pattern made by using the tile shown in Fig. l, interlocked with solidly-colored tiles. Fig. 3 is a block design in which the blocks are four times the size of those in Fig. 2, in this case the party-colored tiles being colored in halves; and Fig. 4L is a Grolier pattern made from solid and party units of various kinds.

The tile A of Fig. 2 may be roughly described as a double-headed arrow, whose points a and b are angles of ninety degrees, the sides c of which, if produced, would form a square, as shown in Fig. 3. rIhe other tile, Fig. l, is a Maltese cross having a relatively large center and relatively short arms. The edges Z when produced also form a square. In the two forms the edges Z and e are equal, f and g are equal, while edges /t of the arrow-head barbs are each respectively equal to one-half the edges 27. It will therefore be evident that tiles of these shapes may be assembled, as in Figs. 2, 3, and 1l, forming a continuous surface, and it will be observed that the coperating angles of the units are of such size and so arranged that the units interlock and none can be removed except by lifting it vertically from the surface. I/Vhen the tiles are so colored that the outline of each is noticeable, the

` outline of the pattern thus produced is in a IOO certain sense uneven; but the interlocking tongues and recesses are so large in comparison with the tiles themselves that the general effect is not objectionable. In another sense the design could be said to consist of h/Ialtese crosses ina solid background, and from this point of view the outlines are perfectly even and unbroken. The distinction between the two considerations will in actual use depend a great deal on the contrast of the colors employed. Thus light crosses and dark arrows will make the latter more prominent, and the design will appear as a series of crossed lines, whereas with dark crosses and light arrows the former will be the more prominent.

Referring to patterns produced with partycolored tiles, it will be observed that by the use of units divided into four equal radial sections, the diametrically opposite divisions being colored differently from the other pair, as in Fig. l, a block design as shown in Fig. 2 may be made. In this case two or more different arrow-tiles are employed; but in no case are they party-colored. The divisionlines between the sections on the crosses extend from the centers of the edges z', Fig. 1, and therefore match with the edges c of the arrow, Fig. 2, as will be seen.

The larger block design of Fig. 3 is composed of solid arrows of two or more colors and crosses colored in halves. The two tiles match in each instance at the same point as before.

The Grolier pattern of Fig. 4 is made up of the same arrow-tiles as above and five different cross units. Crosses j j' have one section colored to form outer corners. On account of the odd number of blocks in each side of the outline square the other corners may be formed by the meeting of four differentlycolored arrow-tiles, as at Crosses Z Z are colored in halves, like those in Fig. 6, and are used in making continuous bands of solid color, as m mf. Crosses n n. have three sections colored to form the inside corners or angles. Other crosses, as 0 0, may be solid.

The above are of course only a few of the designs that may be produced with the aid of radially party-colored tiles. The tiles shown are of course typical merely of my invention, which may be variously embodied without departing from its proper scope.

l/Vhat I claim is l. A floor or wall covering composed of tiles of the general shape of a Maltese cross, having dierently-colored parts arranged radially about the center, interlocked with tiles of the shape of a double-headed arrow, forming a pattern or design irrespective of the interlocked portions of the tiles, as set forth,

2. Afloor or -wall covering composed of interlocked solidly-colored tiles and tiles partycolored symmetrically and radially and having a pattern or design therein, the outlines thereof being formed by the colors on the tiles irlrespective of the interlocked portions of the ti es.

3. As anew article of manufacture, a tile of tlre general form of a Maltese cross, having differently-colored parts thereon symmetrically arranged about the center of the tile for the purposesset forth.

AXEL W. NTLSSON.

litnesses:

GEORGE Si. DANnsLs, DE WITT CLINTON, Jr. 

